Anything is Possible
by Gothic Skittle
Summary: Kiki's life is hard, it's like she's living in a nightmare. Then her best friend, Kim, takes her to a place where Kim knows she'll be safe. What happeneds when Kiki falls for the one creation that Kim fell for years ago? NOTE: I only own Kiki, Shawnee, an
1. Default Chapter

Kiki sat at one of the picnic tables in the yard of the Suburbia High School wearing her everyday long sleeved black sweater, by herself, as always. She sat with her arms crossed in front of her, trying not to bend them much. They still hurt after last night. _Why me? _She thought to herself. _If only they didn't take me away from Shawnee…she loved me and cared for me! So what if she lost her job? She was on the verge of getting another one. _She always wondered the same thing ever since she was brought here, ever since the nightmare began. She repeated the question over and over and over. _Why did they take me away? What did I do wrong to deserve this? _ Ever since Social Services took her away from her perfectly good home, her loving sister, she wondered this. It was like she was the victim of a homicide. She always found it to be the same. The victim gets hurt, she gets hurt. Neither of them knows why, but they are told in some way shape or form that they deserve it. She knew she didn't. 

Her parents died when she was five, and she fell into the care of her sister who was eight years older than her. Kiki and Shawnee lived in the same house that they lived in before their parents died, and they held up perfectly. Ten years down the road and Kiki is a sophomore, trying to find a job to buy a car, and Shawnee loses her job. Social Services took her away from Shawnee and placed her in a foster home of a couple that go by the last name of Vitch. Everything started out ok, and then Kiki started getting abused by both of her foster care parents. No matter what she did, no one would listen to her and she had no friends. She wouldn't let anyone come near her except for one person, an acquaintance that worked at the school. A girl three years older than her and lived two houses down and across the street. Her name was Kim. 

Kim considered Kiki as a friend, but she knew that Kiki had none. Kiki didn't let anyone except Kim touch her, and she often kept to herself, although she did go over to Kim's constantly to get away. Kim wanted to tell her parents, but Kiki wouldn't let her. She knew that she needed to get out of the Vitch house, but everything she tried they found out about it and hurt her worse. She often sat at the same table, thinking to herself. 

A piece of paper flew off the table and Kiki went to go pick it up. Her arms hurt so badly that she couldn't help but cry as she tried to clutch it. Kim saw her and ran over to help her. 

"Kiki, we need to do something. You need to get out of there." Kim said to her as she picked up the paper for Kiki and helped her back upright on the table bench. 

"Kim, you know that they will find out if we try anything." Kiki sat, tears running down her face. "Besides, we've already tried everything." She went to go wipe the tears off of her face, but the pain was unbearable. She let out a yelp and then put her head down, hoping no one was staring at her. Kim moved in closer to her.

"Kiki, let me see your arms." Kim looked at her with a very stern look. Kiki raised her head to look at Kim. 

"Are you sure you want to see?" Kiki's eyes darted towards the ground waiting for Kim's answer. Kim put Kiki's head up with one of her hands and nodded. "Yes, Ki, I do." Kiki looked at her and then started to roll up her sleeves, sobbing a little harder than before. She got them rolled up to her elbow, exposing black and blue bruised and battered skin. She had cuts from what looked like fingernail files, stake knives, and pins. Kim examined her arms and then looked back to Kiki. 

"Run away. You have to. I'm not going to sit here and watch you get hurt like this, especially when you didn't do anything to deserve it." Kim sat on the bench next to Kiki as Kiki hurriedly unrolled her sleeves so that no one else would see her badly bruised skin. Kiki then looked at Kim.

"Where am I supposed to go?" Kiki looked at Kim. Kim examined Kiki for a few minutes, thinking about her answer. 

Kiki was a short, medium sized girl, with long, shoulder length blonde hair. She wore many bracelets, rings and necklaces. She had a very loving heart, and Kim knew it. Kiki reminded Kim so much of herself that she knew. She knew that someone would love her. She knew. She told him that she, herself, would never go back up there, but she knew that Kiki should go. Kiki needed someone to love her, and he needed someone to love him. Kim was still in love with him, even after three years, but she didn't care. Kiki needed him more than she did. 

She stood up and motioned Kiki to stand up with her. Kiki stood next to her and waited for her answer. 

"Well? Any bright ideas?" Kiki said as Kim hugged her tightly. After a few minutes, Kim stepped back and grabbed her hand. 

"Mr. and Mrs. Vitch aren't home, are they?" Kim asked as she started walking with Kiki off the grounds.

"No, no one is ever there when I get home from school. They work really late." Kiki had a puzzled look on her face. 

"Perfect." Kim said as she kept walking, with Kiki at her side.


	2. The Mansion

They reached the Vitch home, and Kim tried the doorknob. 

"Dang, it's locked." She said and looked at Kiki, who was already searching the plant pots for the hide-a-key. When she found it, she let herself and Kim into the house and they went to the back bedroom, where Kiki was forced to stay during the night and weekends. 

"Ok, Kiki, grab everything you need and can hold, I'll help you lug some stuff up there too." Kiki looked at Kim, confused.

"Where are you taking me?" Kim was already in the room packing Kiki's clothes. 

"Kiki, don't talk, just pack. You'll see." Kiki walked over to the closet where Kim was already throwing stuff into a backpack. 

About a half an hour they were walking down the street, towards a dark, black part of the neighborhood. 

"Erm, Kim?" Kiki stopped in the middle of the road when they reached the big circle at the end of the roadway. 

"No one will know you're here but me." Kim then looked down, and then up at the house figure at the top of the hill. 

"Kim, doesn't someone live there? Won't they turn me in?" Kiki was so afraid of what might happen that she was willing to turn back. 

Kim laughed lightly. "No, no one's going to turn you in Kiki, after all, you only need a place to live-err, stay for a while." Kiki looked at Kim.

"Ohkay, just so long as I'll be able to be alive and unharmed." Kim took hold of Kiki's free hand and they walked inside the gate. They walked down a dark overgrown pathway and came upon a second gate that was locked. Kiki looked at Kim with an unsure and puzzled look on her face. Kim smiled and stepped sideways through a gap between two of the bars. Kiki followed. The two of them passed through a huge often kept up garden. Kiki couldn't help but stand in the middle of it and look around; wondering whom in the world knew enough to turn a regular bush into a deer, or even a human hand. It was beautiful and she loved it. 

As she stood there, she felt a tug on the back of her shirt. Kiki turned around and followed Kim into the big house. They were silent, looking around at the half empty place. The only things that Kiki could see that were in there were some big old cobweb covered machines and a staircase. Kiki couldn't help but break the silence.

"Aren't we supposed to knock first? Or does someone live here?" Kim looked at Kiki and then at the staircase. 

"Well, it's starting to get dark. If you follow the staircase upward there's a big room that you can sleep in. I will drop by before I go to work tomorrow to see how you are doing. I will bring you stuff to eat when you run out of what you have, and here's ten bucks just in case you need it. If you need more just let me know. I will give your teachers excuses and if Mr. & Mrs. Vitch ask where you are I'll think up some lie, alright? The same for SS." Kiki couldn't believe her ears.

"You'd do all that for me?" Kiki moved closer to Kim. Kim nodded her head.

"Of course I would. I really care about you." Kiki loved Kim; she was like a sister to her and the only other person in the world still living who cared. Kiki hugged Kim and whispered 'thanks' in her ear. Then Kiki turned and headed for the stairs of the big mansion, stopping on the third step, turning to Kim and calling her.

"Hey, Kim?" Kim turned around, hand on the doorhandle. 

"Yeah?" 

"Someone does live here?" Kiki looked a little frightened, but waited for an answer. 

"You'll see." Kim smiled and waved, and then was gone, shutting the door behind her. 

Kim stood there, by herself and then turned and continued climbing the stairs. 

__

Heh, watch, someone does live here and they drive me back to the Vitch's. 

Kim finally reached the top floor, a big room with a huge hole in the roof. Kim was right. It was dark and Kiki could see the moon through the hole. 

__

I better get some sleep. She thought as she walked over to a corner and laid down on the floor. Instantly she fell asleep.


	3. Edward

The next morning Kiki awoke to the sun warm on her face. Her arms hurt less than what they did the day before. She stood up and grabbed her backpack. She opened it and pulled out a small Walkman and a CD case. She unhooked the headphones and plugged in two small carry on speakers. She then went through the case and picked out a mixed CD. She put it in the player and turned it on, setting it down and stood there waiting for the song to start. Music started as Alanis Morisette began to pour out lyrics.

"I had no choice but to hear you,

You stated your case, time and again,

I thought about it, 

You treat me like,

I'm a princess,

I'm not used to, liking that

You ask how my day was…"

Kiki began to sing and dance to the song as she pulled out a box of granola bars and opened them. She took one and opened it, still dancing, and went to take a bite, her eyes closed. Right before she bit into the granola bar she heard a sound and opened her eyes and screamed. Standing before her was a tall, pale, dark haired man wearing what seemed to be a black rubber suit. He started walking towards her. As he walked he swung his arms back and forth, his fingers moving and making a snipping noise. Kiki looked down at his hands and screamed. He didn't have any hands, but instead he had sharp shears of metal for fingers. 

"Oh my gosh…" Kiki said as she backed away from him. 

"Don't hurt me, please, I didn't do anything, I just need a place to live." She said as she reached the wall and sunk down onto her knees. She began to cry.

"Please don't hurt me, really, I am a good kid, I've been hurt enough, really." He walked closer and closer to her and she cried harder and harder, repeating the same line.

"Don't hurt me, don't hurt me, I didn't mean to make anyone mad."

Just then Kim burst into the room. She looked at the man, then at Kiki sitting on the floor, crying and repeating the line. 

"Edward." Kim spoke and both the man and Kiki looked up at her. Kim ran over to Kiki and hugged her. 

"He's not going to hurt you, Ki, he's not going to hurt you." Kiki was still crying heavily. She looked up at Kim through her tears and whispered to her. 

"I don't want to suffer anymore." 

Kim looked at Edward, who was standing there, terrified look upon his face. He spoke softly to her. 

"I just wanted to talk." He said and then turned and began to walk back into his corner. Kim ran after him. 

"I know, I know." She said. She took his arm and led him back over to Kiki, who stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I'm sorry." She said and then combed her hair with her fingers. Kim looked at her.

"It's alright." Kim looked down at her watch and then started to walk away, calling to the two over her shoulder. 

"I have to go or else I'll be late for work. I'll stop back by tomorrow to see how you are, Ki." With that she was gone. 

Kiki walked over to the man who was standing in the middle of the room where Kim left him, staring after her. He turned and looked at Kiki who was about a foot away from him. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I thought you were going to hurt me." She said, as he walked a step closer to her. He looked at her and then spoke.

"She said she'd never come back." He glanced at the floor. 

"Who? Kim?" She looked the man in the eye, and then remembered the story Kim once told her. 

"What's your name?" She said, as she took another step closer to look at his face. The man took a step backward as he responded.

"Edward." He said. Kiki knew this was the man Kim told her about. But she couldn't figure out, if she still loved him then why send her here? Why wouldn't Kim just live with him? Oh well, whatever the reason, she figured that it would be nice to live with someone else who was just as afraid of everyone as she was. 

He looked at her and then walked over to a fireplace looking thing and sat down. The wall behind him was covered with newspaper clippings and such, and there was a little bed like thing made out of straw. He was silent for a moment and then responded back with a question. 

"What's your name?" Kiki walked over and sat down in front of him. 

"Kiki, but you can just call me Ki if you want." She said as she bit into her granola bar. She chewed and swallowed, then couldn't help but wonder to herself about his 'hands'. 

"What happened to you?" She said, trying not to sound rude. She saw him look down at the ground as he answered. 

"I'm not finished." He said. He looked back at Kiki who had a puzzled look upon her face, but she decided to leave the subject alone. 

"Are you lonely?" She asked, hoping that he wanted the company. He nodded his head.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Once again, she hoped that he wanted her to stay. She sat there, waiting for an answer. His eyes strayed back to the floor, and then he looked up and nodded again. 

"Don't leave me." His voice was soft, frightened, that of a child. Kiki couldn't help it, she hugged him. 

"I'm not going anywhere." She said and then pulled away from him. 

"Hungry?" She asked, and then held up her bitten granola bar. He nodded and she tore the bar in half. She went to hand him his half, but he looked at her and moved his metal fingers. She sighed and whispered 'sorry'. She tore off a piece and fed it to him and he looked at her, grateful. 

Around mid-day, the two of them had talked about almost everything. Almost. They didn't mention anything about relationships or love; Kiki refused to bring it up. She thought he'd get hurt and brood over the fact that Kim won't stay with him. Kiki made a mental note to ask Kim about the situation when she came back the next morning. 

Kiki finally got bored and turned on another CD. She started singing along with the lyrics and dancing as Edward looked on. 

"Peek, and sneak about, I'm going to snoop and call you out, I've caught you, your hands are red, now I'm you're broken hearted detective." 

Kiki noticed him watching her and then stopped and grabbed his arm. 

"Do you dance?" She asked him as she circled him, still singing. 

"D-dance?" He asked. She felt bad; he didn't know what it was. Kiki giggled a little as she stood in front of him, her body bouncing to the beat of the song. She took his arms and moved them along to the music. He smiled, he couldn't remember having that much fun in ages. 

After a while the sun began to go down, and the two of them were sitting against the wall on the top floor, watching the sunset through the big hole in the roof. The pain in Kiki's arms had gone down a lot, and she was beginning to trust Edward. She had found a friend. She had fun. She was happy.

After the sun had gone down, Edward went to bed as Kiki sat up, looking at the moon, thinking about the past day. _It's wonderful. _She thought to herself. _No more yelling, no more hitting, kicking…no more pain._ She fell asleep that night smiling.


	4. Confused

The next day, Kiki decided to see the rest of the house. She led herself down the stairs just as Kim opened the door. Kiki walked over to her and invited her in.

"Come on in, Kim!" Kiki took the door and opened it all the way so that Kim could enter. Kim shook her head. 

"No. I can't. Come out here for a minute, I need to speak with you." Kiki looked puzzled but walked out the door, leaving it open. Kiki looked back and could see Edward standing at the top of the first staircase looking after them. He caught Kiki's eye and he turned around and walked back up the stairs with a sad look upon his face.

"Kim, why'd you leave?" Kiki stood at the door, watching after Kim walking by herself. Kim turned. 

"Because I had to." Kiki couldn't believe it. 

"You had to? Oh, so that he could sit up there by himself and be lonely? What about you? Weren't you lonely?" Kim looked at Kiki. She couldn't believe what she was doing. Finally she spoke up.

"I had to. We both know that they would have killed him had I stayed." Kiki looked at Kim apologetically. 

"Then why'd you bring me here if you still love him?" Kim turned around completely and walked up to Kiki. She took a deep breath and then looked Kiki in the eye.

"Because you need him more than I do." Kim sighed and then looked away. Kiki didn't know what to say. After a few seconds Kim looked back at the gate. "I'd better go, or else I'll be late." She turned around and headed for the entrance as Kiki looked up at her. 

"But what if he needs you?" Kiki stood there, half in the door and half out, waiting for a response. Kim stopped when she got to her car and gave Kiki her answer. 

"He doesn't. He needed me then, it's your turn now." Kim opened the door, got in, shut the door and turned on the engine. Kiki stood there, watching after Kim as her car pulled away.

Kiki went inside and shut the door, thinking to herself about what Kim had said as she slowly climbed the stairs. She reached the top to find Edward staring out of the broken window. He turned and looked at her as he took a step away from the window. 

"You heard everything, didn't you?" Kiki asked him, wondering what hurt him more, the fact that Kim still loved him or the fact that she left. His eyes darted to the floor as he answered the directed question. 

"Yes. I did." He said and then looked back up at Kiki. Kiki couldn't help it, she felt so sorry for him, so bad that he couldn't be with Kim. He turned back to the window and began to stare outside again. Kiki walked up to him and put her arms around him, hugging him close to her. She whispered to him again and again.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He pulled away from her grasp and turned back around, facing her. He walked up to her, eyes still on the floor as he spoke.

"But she's right." His voice was so soft, but Kiki couldn't understand why he thought such a thing.

"Right? Right about what? How?" She was so confused; she couldn't understand what he meant. He walked back to the window again and looked out as he responded.

"I needed you then…" He looked up at Kiki. "…I need you now." Kiki walked over to him and but his arms around her, and leaned up against him as she cried. She'd never been needed, and now she was. She felt necessary here, and she decided that here she must stay.

About a week passed, the two of them up in that old mansion, getting to know each other, being each other's companions, and Kim visiting Kiki every night. Kim felt that if she went in the morning that Edward would see her, and she didn't want to hurt him anymore than she did. Kiki often wondered about everyone, where they thought she could be. Not that she cared, everyone was so horrid to her, she would ever only be happy with the thought of one of three people: Her sister, Shawnee, Kim, her beloved friend, and Edward, her unusual companion. 

Although Kiki felt her place was in the mansion with Edward, she always seemed to be in the way, between Kim and Edward, though she was constantly reminded that she was needed. _This is my place. _She thought. _This is where I belong._ Only time began to uncover what was to come. 

Kiki awoke one day at an unusual time, she had stayed up practically all night cleaning the mansion, getting rid of all the cobwebs and such, because she felt that the two of them needed a decent looking place. Edward made no complaints about it; in fact, he helped her with some of the chores. She was exhausted and slept in until eleven o'clock. She had found a big chair in the cleaning process and moved it into the middle of the top floor. She woke to Edward standing looking out of the broken window, as he normally did. Kiki didn't understand why he often did that, and she thought she might ask.

"Edward," She said as she sat up and brushed the hair from her eyes. "Why do you constantly look out the window at the neighborhood?" He looked back at her and then back out the window. 

"I want to be like them, like you." Kiki sighed as she responded to him.

"Ohkay, Edward, come here, sit with me a moment." He turned and looked at her as she motioned him to come sit with her. He walked over as she scooted to make room for him. He sat down next to her as she took his arm. 

"Edward, now, I know you want to be like everyone else, but you must face the fact that you aren't, and that's ok. It's actually a good thing that you aren't because if you were, you wouldn't be you. You are special, you're special no matter what, but everything that you have, that you think, you do, you say, that is you. And I don't ever want you to be anyone but yourself." She looked at him and smiled as he smiled back. She kissed his forehead and gave him a hug. "Now," She said, "You hungry? I got a bunch of pop tarts if you want one." He laughed a little and nodded his head. 

"Sure, I'll have one." Kiki got up and walked over to the corner where all the grocery bags sat, full of food, beverages, health care, clothes, and such that they needed to survive. Kim brought them whatever they needed to get through each week if they needed anything. Kiki dug through one of the bags and brought out three boxes of pop tarts and carried over to the chair. 

"Kay, Edward," She said, holding up the three boxes. "Do you want Strawberry, Cinnamon, or Smore's?" She set the strawberry and cinnamon boxes down on the floor in front of him so he could choose while she opened the Smore's, pulled out a package and opened it. Edward still hadn't chosen, so Kiki took one of the pop tarts out of the already opened package and held it up to see if he wanted it. 

"Want this one?" She asked as she bit into her pop tart. He nodded and scooted over a bit so that Kiki could sit back down by him. She took his pop tart and broke off little bits and fed them to him as she began to sing part of a song.

"Why do you, why do you ask, why I'm not blaming my God? I tell you, I tell you what, he was the only one there." 

When they were done eating, Kiki decided to go outside and was her hair. She grabbed up a bottle of shampoo, a bottle of conditioner and a towel and headed outside. She turned on the hose and wet down her hair, beginning to wash it. She rinsed, conditioned and rinsed again, reaching for the towel, wrapping it around her head and then turned off the water. She gathered the shampoo and accessories while she turned to walk back into the house. She reached the door when she heard footsteps of someone coming up the pathway. She stopped and turned around, half expecting to see Kim standing at the gate with another bag of clean clothes for her. Instead, she found one of the rather nosy neighbors; a tall redhead named Joyce. Kiki didn't really know her, but she talked to her once or twice, but didn't like her much. Kim mentioned Joyce being rather cruel to Edward, but she didn't go into details. _I should ask her just exactly what Joyce did _Kiki thought. She made a mental note to ask Kim when she got back that night. Joyce caught the sight of Kiki and started conversation with her, like she'd known her for years.

"Hello, I didn't know you moved in here." Joyce took a few steps closer to her, which made Kiki nervous. 

"Erm, hi Joyce, well, I'm only staying here for a few days then I am going back to my sisters." _I can't believe it, I just told a total lie. _Kiki felt uneasy. _I never lie. Oh well, she's no one entirely important. _Then it hit her. _What if she tells the Vitch's? _Joyce's voice, warm and friendly yet rather weirdly interrupted her thought process. 

"Well, you have a good stay here, Rikki." Joyce smiled and waved, then was gone. Kiki let out a sigh of relief as she walked back into the house, shutting the door behind her.


	5. Kim Knows

Kiki sat in the chair, a sarong like blanket draped over her curled up legs, watching the sun go down. She sat quietly, thinking to herself about her situation and the people she associated with. She had a dropping feeling every time she saw Edward, and she knew why. She liked him a lot, and was always happier when she was with him and all, but still, she couldn't take it. It was like treading on dangerous ground, where she didn't belong. Someone else's territory. Kim's territory. 

As she was thinking, Edward walked into the room, smiled at her, then went to the window and started staring out again. She sat, watching him as she always did, she watched him sleep, breath, walk, talk, live. She felt that she couldn't go anywhere without him by her side. 

Just then, she was startled by a knock on the door. _Kim _She thought. Edward looked at her as she got out of her chair. She walked over to him and told him that she'd be back in a few, kissed his forehead and then ran downstairs to answer the door. As Kiki answered the door, Kim pulled her out into the darkness and began to talk to her. 

"You doing ok?" Kim asked, waiting for a response. She could tell that Kiki had something on her mind. 

"Yeah, Kim, I'm fine. Edward's fine too." Kiki sighed and looked away from Kim. Kim was confused.

"What's the matter?" Kim responded to Kiki's sigh and darting eyes. Kiki looked back at her, worried.

"One of the neighbors decided to stop by the mansion today, while I was outside washing my hair." Kim took a deep breath and then spoke.

"Which one?" She asked, anxious to know. 

"Joyce." Kiki still looked worried but then added, "But she thinks my name is Rikki." Kim let out a sigh of relief. 

"You're fine. The most that she will do is probably just tell the whole neighborhood that she met someone who moved into the mansion for three days. Then she'll probably make up a lie about how Edward's ghost killed you. She's not a real threat unless she tells the police, which she won't. I'll make sure of that." Kiki hugged Kim and then let her know what was tugging at her mind. 

"Kim, don't be mad at me for bringing this up, but I think that You should really see Edward more. You know, rebuild your relationship." Kim took a step back from Kiki and then answered in a puzzled tone.

"We never really had a relationship. We just fell for each other. Plus, I left to save his life. He'd be dead if I stayed." Kiki looked at the ground and then spoke.

"He's lonely, not in the way that your thinking, because I am there, he sees me everyday, but I mean his heart is. He needs you still." Kim sighed and then responded.

"No, no he doesn't. You know this. He needs you." Kiki couldn't believe this was happening a second time.

"Kim, he loves you and you love him." She took a step closer to Kim. A tear fell down Kim's cheek. It was true, she did still love him, but she wasn't blind. She knew what was happening inside Kiki, and most likely inside Edward. It was ok with her, they needed it, and she knew it. That's why she brought Kiki here in the first place. Kim looked at the ground then back up at Kiki, another tear falling down her cheek. She wiped it away.

"Don't play like you don't know it, I see the way you look at him. I see the way he looks at you. Don't tell me you can't see it. It's you now, my time is up. He needs you more than he needs me." Kim hugged Kiki and waved goodbye. She walked to the gate, got in her car and was gone.


	6. A Legal Life

Kiki walked back up the stairs to the big room where she and Edward spent most of their time. She found Edward sitting in his straw-made bed, staring at the paper clippings he put there many years beforehand. Kiki stood before him, tears running down her face. She knew what she wanted to tell him but she couldn't do it. She didn't know why, she just couldn't. She kneeled down in front of him just as someone knocked on the door. She was startled, and quickly wiped her eyes as she got back up and ran down the stairs to open the door. Much to her surprise she found a policeman standing there. 

"Excuse me miss, will you step outside? I'd like to ask you a few questions." Kiki froze. She felt her stomach drop. 

"Ma'am?" He touched her shoulder and she quickly pulled away. She walked out of the door, shut it and stood in front of it so he wouldn't go in. 

"What?" She said. She crossed her arms and looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Well, someone from the neighborhood called in and said that you were trespassing on the property."

"Her name Joyce?" Kiki rolled her eyes and uncrossed her arms. She heard a car pull up and someone get out, but she ignored it. 

"Yes, but that's just between you and me. I understand your name is Rikki? Is that right?" Kiki rolled her eyes again and opened her mouth to speak, but Kim running up the walkway interrupted her.

"Officer! Officer!" Kim reached him and stopped, panting heavily as she laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes, miss?" Kim finally caught her breath and went on.

"She has the right to be here, but you can't tell a single soul and you need to announce something about the neighbors not being able to come here…it's important." The police officer patted her on the back and told her to slow down.

"You want to tell me why I need to do that?" Kim glanced at Kiki and Kiki shook her head. Kim held up two fingers, crossed them and then kissed them. Kiki nodded slightly and then took a step forward. Kim walked over to her, took her arm and pulled up the sleeve of the blue knitted sweater. 

"She was taken from her sister and placed in a foster home, and this is what happened. She's happy here, in this home, and she wants to stay."

"Is this true?" The police officer asked, examining Kiki's arm. Kiki flinched a little when he poked it to see how bad it was, and then said in a clear voice, "Yes. I want to stay here."

The police officer looked up at Kiki and then asked, "How old are you?" Kiki swallowed hard. 

"I'm fifteen. I will be sixteen in a month." She blinked as the police officer responded to her answer.

"You're too young to live on your own." Kiki looked at Kim, a tear rolling down her eye. Kim looked the man in the eye as she spoke.

"I just turned eighteen, and I come here every night to make sure she's fine. She'll be in my care." The man shook his head.

"No can do. You have to live in the same house, not down the street." He looked at Kiki.

"Pack up your stuff, I'll take you down to the station and we'll find another foster home for you to live in."

"NO!" Kiki screamed as she dropped to her knees and began to cry. "No, no, no, no, no, no." Kiki kept repeating the two-letter word as Kim thought of another idea. She turned to the man and grabbed his arm.

"No. I will move in. I'll live here every other week. Is that fair? She's happy here, just let her stay! I'll be here with her most of the time! She'll be fine. Come on, she lived her whole life unhappy. Just give her this." The policeman looked from Kim to Kiki, who was still repeating the word, crying and swaying from side to side. The man stood there, thinking, staring at Kiki.

"Please?" Kim pleaded. The man nodded his head.

"Ohkay, ohkay, I'll give in, but you got to let me have pictures of both her arms and tell me the names of the foster parents." 

"Thank you!" Kim hugged the man and then hugged Kiki. Kiki hugged the man and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Thank you."

The pictures were taken and the policeman was notified of the Vitch's, and made a stop by the house when he left. The next day he reported back to Kim that there was going to be an investigation held and both Mr. and Mrs. Vitch were going to have background checks done on them. There would possibly be a trial, but they didn't know of that yet. Kiki was so happy that the first time she saw Edward after the policeman left, she hugged him tightly and wouldn't let go. She was going to be able to have the one thing she wanted, and Kim made it possible. She couldn't believe it was happening, but she wasn't sure if Edward loved her back or not. She had mixed emotions, which led her into depression half the time, the other half being in happiness. She was starting to sink, and Kim had no idea why. All Kim could do was watch over her and protect her as best as she could.


	7. The Nightmare Begins

Weeks later, Kim sat in the Police Station at Detective Shelm's desk, head down, coffee mug in hand. She waited for what seemed like an hour before Shelm walked in the door and tossed a bunch of papers on the desk in front of her. She looked up at the man and then began leafing through the papers. They were the Vitch's criminal records, which had been clean until this incident. A trial was scheduled for the month to come, but the question of whether Kiki could still live in the mansion remained. 

"I thought all of you decided that if I moved in with her that she could stay there." Kim argued when Shelm told her that Kiki had to move out. He nodded his head and then motioned for her to calm down.

"That was a fine arrangement for a while, but we've decided that she needs a mentor, a guardian." 

"But I **_am_** her mentor and guardian!" 

"No. She needs a parent to supervise, not a friend who she can party with." 

Kim stood up and slammed her fists on the desk. "**_I AM HER GUARDIAN!_** We don't party! I take care of her, and I'm the only one in this godforsaken town who intends to do so!" She hit the desk once more with her fists as she sat back down and once again held her head in her hands. She began to lightly cry tears of hurt and tears of anger. Shelm walked over to her and gave her a hug.

"I'm sorry, but you're not authorized." Kim pushed him away.

"How do I become authorized?" 

"You're not of age yet to be authorized." Kim looked up at him in disbelief.

"I'm twenty years old! How am I not of age to be authorized?" Shelm sighed, and took a paper out of a drawer in the file cabinet. He held it out for her to read. The first three lines were written in bold, black letters and read:

**To gain authorization and become a child's mentor/guardian, you must be able to fit into the categories below:**

Of Age 21 or older Have been able to keep a job for three years or more 

Kim sighed.

"Well, I can fit into the second one…Is there absolutely no way that this can be altered? Even by one year?" Shelm shook his head.

"You can't like, pull some strings or something?" Shelm once again shook his head.

"For me?" Kim continued to plead as Shelm continued to shake his head no. Kim finally stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. 

"Fine." She said as she grabbed her stuff, picked up the papers and shoved them in her bag, and walked out, slamming the door behind her.


End file.
